I have two projects I’m brainstorming for possible novelization. One is a short story I’m thinking of expanding, and the other is my old script frenzy idea that was never fully fleshed out.
The short story is, not surprisingly, in good shape. The script frenzy idea, on the other hand…
I forgot that I’d plotted that out based on ideas off the science fiction clichés list combined in outrageous ways. In other words, I’d forgotten how much the plot sucks (like a black hole!). LOL. On the other hand, I really like the characters and would like to do more with them.
So, for old ScriptFrenzy idea, which is now being called “untitled AI,” I have the following steps in mind:
Step One: De-cheese and solidify plot.
Step Two: ……
Step Three: Profit!
Seriously, to start with I need a better, punchier high-concept idea than “reporter investigates AI.” ‘Cause, you know. The punchier high-concept idea is what makes the other one easier to plot.
Random aside: Oh my God I love AIs. Especially Lyda Morehouse’s.
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Hmmn…reporter investigates AI and discovers s/he is an AI who only thought s/he is human, then has to decide where his/her loyalties actually lie? Maybe that’s a bit cliche.
I’m pretty sure I have the reporter character. She’s a cute, short redhead with a southern accent and food allergies.
The thing is, I need to completely redo the idea of the AI. In the original, the programmer named her after his dead sister, which I like, but a lot of the rest of her is super-cheesy. There’s an evil government conspiracy and aliens and I don’t think I want to do aliens any more because it’s too X-Files-y. That, and I started writing without really understanding what the AI is and what it was programmed to do that was worth covering up.
Yeah, the old plot was cheese soup. 😉 X-Files-y cheese soup, but instead of Mulder and Scully we had the cute redheaded reporter and the tall African-American photographer who was going to art school when he wasn’t fighting government conspiracies with his camera.